Help with the front of my soon to be new house please!

4 years ago

New house and pretty much have a blank slate to work with here. We are in zone 6 and the house is pretty much facing south. I would like to put a dogwood tree in the front yard, centered from sidewalk to front of house, but not sure if it should go closer to the driveway on the left or towards the right side of house or right in front of the door.

Also, I have some bulbs (snowdrops, squills, lilies) and Irises that I'm going to move with us that I want to put in the beds here. Then I also thought I'd love some Lavender in the corner there and/or at the right end of the bed, but not sure if Lavender will work. I'd like something in front of the porch, whether plant or fence/railing. Oh and will I need to get rid of all those large rocks that are in there now for all the bulbs I want to put in there? Or should I find something else to put in there? Can you tell I'm excited about the move? :) Thanks for any suggestions and help!

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violetsnapdragon

4 years ago

I like the idea of a tree on the right, maybe something flowering.

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Comments (11)

krnuttle
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
You do not specify where you are, However your house looks like a house that would be in the northern areas of the country. There are flowering bushes you could plant in these cooler environments

I like the idea of a flowering trees in the front of the house. I would go for a double peach, but there are flowering pear and crab apple. I would plant knockout roses in the planter area in front of the house. A nice spirea or rose of Sharon on the right end of the house, possible set back from the corner. An old fashion or french lilac may also be nice in that position.

If you are careful of the type there are small lilac that could be put into the planters. However they are not like the knockout roses that will bloom most of the season.

If you are further south there are azaleas, camellias, etc. that you could also plant.

The idea is to soften the lines of the house. and hid the sharp lines make it look like it is part of the yard not standing there like a sore thumb. the bush at the end of the plant again soften the end of the house and make it flow into the yard.

In my opinion Don;t plant juniper and similar plants as they are very boring.
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woodenzoo
Original Author
4 years ago
Thanks, you have given me some ideas. Yes we are in the northern part, zone 6 Ohio. I love the idea of the lilac. I may put one over in front of the fence on the right side. I'm going to put up privacy fencing and think that would look great in front of it. They used to have roses of some sort at one time in those beds. I just thought about rhododendrons that may do well there too. I am concerned though, if that (flowering) dogwood tree will block too much sun from the flower bed area.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
4 years ago
big city name ....plz ... lake erie z6 is much different than western north OH ...

i dont like the yellow door frame.. but that is your choice ... to my eye.. it does not compliment the siding above.. nor the brick below ... and you ought to have a plan for the shutters ... as to color i mean....

a tree should go at least 6 to 8 to 10 feet out into the lawn ...

how wide is that tiny foundation bed??? never forget .. foundation plantings are planted to hide the foundation .. NOT ON THE FOUNDATION .... and that bed looks barely a couple feet wide ... not much space for anything other than annuals/perennials ... and the bulbs you mention ...

if you find landscape cloth or plastic under the rock.. remove it all ... and good luck removing rock.. its hard labor ... once you do it.. you will swear to never use rock again in your life.. lol ...

work on the grass this year ... that will improve the look quickly ...

if you can not get a tree planted in the next 4 to 6 weeks.. plan such for the fall planting season .... it is best to deal with trees when they are dormant ... and soon they will be leafed out.. making it harder to deal with when the real heat of summer hits in july/august ...

do you have that famous OH clay .. and if so.. do you know how to deal with it??? .. once you have possession ... you could dig a few holes and find out ... perhaps a new post on that topic would help you deal with such ..

ken

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub
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woodenzoo thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
woodenzoo
Original Author
4 years ago
I totally agree with you on that yellow door frame! I don't care much for the yellow siding either. LOL I really just don't care much for yellow period. It's in the greater Cincinnati area.

You know, you're probably right that the bed isn't that wide. It probably is only 2 to 3 ft. at the max. So much for my Lavender! I'd still like something rather tall for the corners of the bed though. I just do not care for the look of a home with no plants, though I guess it's less maintenance.

I learned to not use rocks when my parents used it once and it never went away! Horrible stuff! This stuff is not the landscaping rocks they sell in those bags, but much larger stones. I have no idea HOW or WHERE I'm supposed to discard them! LOL It'll probably take me years to do so anyway!

I'll start to work on the yard. I should be able to get a tree in within a couple of weeks here yet. I'll see... may just wait on that too. We do have to get that chain link out (at least part of it) and get the privacy fencing in and a few other things inside the house that need attention, so we'll be busy. I'll move some bulbs over though so we'll still have those and can move them about if the need arises later.

Thanks for the link and your suggestions!
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krnuttle
4 years ago
When I replied, I read the beds as 4 to 5 feet wide. If you want plantings in front of the house you could bring the bed on the left out to the side walk, and the one on the right bow out so there is adequate room. Straight lines never look good, and I said in my previous post vegetation softens the lines of the house.

We used to live our just south of Milford east of Cincinnati and had some very nice for rhododendrons
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Embothrium
4 years ago
Since the house façade is geometrically symmetric this is one instance where the matching pairs and other formality that so many want to do in front of asymmetric houses that don't lend themselves to this approach is actually called for. Therefore instead of one example of one kind of tree off to one side and so on I would plan a symmetric layout that relates directly to the house, plant following that design. So there would be two trees of the same kind forming a pair in front of the house, shrubs laid out in straight lines and that kind of thing.

As far as upkeep is concerned lawn maintenance is the most demanding of all, there is no other kind of plant feature that has to be mowed and edged at least once per week during the growing season in order to keep it looking neat.
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woodenzoo thanked Embothrium
woodenzoo
Original Author
4 years ago
krnuttle, I was thinking along those lines too. Especially on the left (why have that tiny strip to mow?) And bowing the right corner out... I may just be able to get my Lavender in there. And/or the rhododendrons. I had been looking out in the Milford/Clermont/Brown County area (even areas south of Dayton too), but the proximity to work won out and we will still be in Butler County.

Embothrium, I understand what you are talking about, but as far as trees go, they do get pretty big and the yard isn't THAT big. Sure, they'd fit, but may cause problems down the line as they grow (thinking roots cracking driveway/sidewalks) or just blocking too much of the view of the house. But I think that's why I was trying to fit the Lavender into both corners of the house. And I don't really want to block my view from the windows. And on down the road, I thought about adding shrubs in front of the walk to the front door. To help cover that area and add some privacy.

Gosh! So much to think about and to research!

Thanks so much everyone for all the help and advice!
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User
4 years ago
About the rock along the foundation. I can't see exactly how big, how deep your current layer is or if it's laid over landscape material of any kind, but consider keeping a 12" strip or so of rock right at the foundation, where you shouldn't be planting anything anyway. It will keep mud & mulch from splashing up on the brick. If this layer is deep enough, it will discourage weeds or at least make them easier to pull up a few times per year. So maybe you could start by simply raking the rocks close to the house, then digging a wider bed for a foundation planting in front of it.

Also just to mention, if you need unskilled labor, see if your new neighborhood has a facebook or social media group -- someplace parents advertise their kids are available for small jobs like this. (Carefully of course, until you get more familiar with your specific neighborhood.)

Nice house. I like the yellow siding and brick, they go well together. Enjoy your new home!
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User
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
One thing I noticed about rock beds is that if you don't have landscaping fabric under the rocks, they end up embedded in the soil.

I removed 3 layers of different kinds of lava rock, river rock and quartz from in front of my new/old house after we moved in a few years ago (The former owners had refurbished the area with different kinds of rocks each time). Only to find out that the ground beneath them ran downhill (10" in 3 ft.) towards the house (there was fabric underneath).

There were other places the former owners used rock also and didn't put fabric underneath and those were the place where the rock was embedded into the soil. Rocks not only sinks when it's muddy but rotting vegetation & soil blown by the wind fills in between the rocks adding to the effect.

Being I had all the rocks piled in the driveway, I leveled the ground along the house (slightly slanting away from the house), relaid the river rocks (using fabric underneath) that I washed with the power washer (it only took a portion of the river rocks to get the desired depth after I leveled the ground) and then had a guy come with a loader to remove several yards of excess rock/quartz/lava from the driveway.

The area by my house has a northern exposure so little sun gets in there but if you have a southern exposure, rocks will get very hot during the summer sun and will cook any plants planted there. You may get by with potted plants laid on top of the rocks but you'll be more limited in what you can have.

Just wanted to share one of the nightmares you might run into doing that.

A wheel barrel comes in handy removing rock. You can load it according to your strength or ambition, or both. :-)
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Embothrium
4 years ago
I mentioned the kind of tree placement that would be visually effective and successful in this situation because you were talking about planting a tree.

I would like to put a dogwood tree in the front yard
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Help with the front of my soon to be new house please!

violetsnapdragon

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Help with the front of my soon to be new house please!

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